Frequently Asked Questions

The Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University is an international research institute for scholars and artists of ballet and its related arts and sciences. It exists to inspire new ideas and new dances, expanding the way we think about the art form’s history, practice, and performance in the 21st century.

The Center is designed to accomplish two things: first, to bring to the art of ballet new ideas and the full resources of a major research university; second, to bring ballet into the university as a serious subject of study and research—to define it as a field in the history of culture.

In pursuit of this mission, we offer two things:

Our fellowship program facilitates the creation of new scholarly and artistic work in dance and its related arts. We provide our fellows with the time, space, and support needed to develop new work. Our fellows come with wide-ranging areas of expertise. At CBA, they meet and are influenced by other artists and scholars they would not otherwise encounter; many form working relationships that last far beyond the fellowship.

We also are out in the world. Our public events typically feature both artists and scholars in conversation, mixing live performance and scholarly analysis. CBA has become a vital player in dance and the humanities with an ever-growing place in the cultural life of NYU, New York City, and beyond.

CBA is the first-ever international research institute that addresses the need for new ideas in the study and practice of ballet. By bringing together artists and scholars from around the world and across disciplines, CBA offers a forum in which the worlds of the university and ballet can speak to each other.

While ballet remains at the core of our mission, CBA’s inherently multidisciplinary nature has led us to grow up around and beyond it: we have become an international research institute for the performing arts organized around dance.

CBA’s definition of Ballet is broad; it does not refer to a specific style of dance or aesthetic.

Rather, Ballet is a system of training based on a linear and geometrically proportioned organization of the human body. It is also an ethics and an etiquette, a physical and public expression of who we are, with a long past and deep roots in religious, political, and military thinking.

Ballet is a wide-ranging performing art, bringing together the arts and sciences from music, poetry, and design to economics, physics, and technology. Across its history, dancers and choreographers have employed it to articulate a vision of society and civic culture, which was at its origins courtly and aristocratic and in the 20th century became public and democratic. Ballet is also inherently contemporary: dancers bring their ‘street’ to the stage. As an art form, ballet has become increasingly specialized and risks losing connection to people and the ways we live. Universities, for their part, have given little recognition to ballet. Its history, skills, and practices have been marginal to the study of the life of the mind. This represents a significant gap in the history of culture.

There are several ways to get involved with CBA:

• • • Attend an event
    • Donate to The Center
    • Sign up for our organizational email list

Due to university policy, our studio is only available to current and alumni fellows. It is not available for external groups or student use. If you have any questions please reach out to nyucba@gmail.com.

The CBA offices and studio are located at 20 Cooper Square, New York, NY 10003.

How to get here via subway:

From the 6: Exit at Astor Place Station.  Head south on 4th Ave. toward E 8th St. Continue on Cooper Square.  20 Cooper Square will be on your right.

From the R/W: Exit at 8th Street Station.  Head southeast on E 8th toward Lafayette St.  Turn right onto Cooper Square. 20 Cooper Square will be on your right.

From the B/D/F/M: Exit at Broadway-Lafayette. Head east on E Houston St. toward Lafayette St.  Turn left onto Bowery. Continue onto Cooper Square. 20 Cooper Square will be on your left.

We would be happy to assist with further questions. Contact us here or email nyucba@gmail.com.